


In twisted braids of lilies knitting

by middlemarch



Category: A Discovery of Witches (TV), All Souls Trilogy - Deborah Harkness
Genre: Deleted Scenes, F/M, Family, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Husbands and Wives, Some Humor, Supernatural Elements, Vampires, Witches, YouTube, post-Satu, power of touch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-06 20:10:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20297254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/middlemarch/pseuds/middlemarch
Summary: There was a spell to cast, but she'd never learned it.





	In twisted braids of lilies knitting

“This would be easier if you watched the YouTube video, Matthew,” Diana said, just this side of a complaint. She sat very still in front of him, hadn’t even turned her head around to look at him, more evidence of her pain. He’d cleaned her injuries and dosed her with an anti-inflammatory and Marthe’s most effective tisane, but magical wounds did not heal so easily.

“Patience, _mon coeur_,” he murmured, pitching his voice low. Her scent shifted. He smelled clove and cinnamon, Calvados, woodsmoke. She liked it very well. “We’re getting there. And the reception is terrible at Sept-Tours. Watching a pinwheel spin won’t help me.”

“This would be faster if you let your mother or Marthe take care of it,” she said.

“You think this is a woman’s task?”

“No. But I’m not good at explaining how to do it. They would already know,” Diana said. He moved his hands carefully, trying to be more gentle than he ever had been in his long life. She needed that now, though she wouldn’t ask for it.

“Perhaps I’m not listening well enough. I’d like to learn how to do this. I’d like to be able to do this well,” he said.

“French-braiding my hair is that important to you?” Diana asked as he made the final plaiting, securing the end with a silk velvet ribbon Ysabeau had given him instead of an elastic. The ribbon was a rich rose, the color he wanted to see in her cheeks again, on her parted lips.

“Caring for you is that important to me. So much so that I don’t want anyone else’s hands on you, though it touches me you’d let the women of my family do so,” Matthew said. He picked up the old mirror Marthe had left, angled it so that Diana could see.

“It’s not too loose?” he asked as she surveyed her image. How blue her eyes were, how tender. “I didn’t want it to pull at your scalp, but I don’t want it falling down.”

“You did a good job,” she said. “You always do, Matthew.”

“Not always,” he said. 

“Well, then you always try. Though I don’t think a fishtail braid is in your future,” Diana laughed. Matthew nudged the braid over her shoulder and bent to kiss the back of her neck. 

“I’m satisfied with my witch. I shouldn’t like her to become a mermaid,” Matthew said.

**Author's Note:**

> More tender, banter-y goodness for Diana and Matthew. I actually find Diana's number of hairstyles distracting and wish she'd stick with a braid or bun and then let her hair down for Matthew or doing Big Magicks, but that's just me.
> 
> Title is from John Milton.


End file.
